If you think about it, most of us have never witnessed a miracle other than the birth of a child, which in my humble opinion is quite monumental! As I was thinking along these lines while preparing for a message the Lord spoke to me and said, “I Am the God of Miracles!” A couple of verses that immediately came to mind is found in Malachi 3:6, “I Am the Lord I change not” and, “Is there anything too hard for me?” Genesis 18:14.
Throughout my week of preparation, He began to show me why many of his people have not experienced miracles in their own lives: We’ve told ourselves too often that life is hard. We’ve zoned in on the hardships of every day life and we’ve taken our eyes off of God. Many of us have shifted our faith from God and his ability to perform miracles, and have put our trust in the seen (the realities we see every day), rather than the unseen (His Kingdom where miracles are always available), we’ve forgotten to put our faith in Jesus teaching his followers how to pray (and believe), “…thy Kingdom come, thy will be done…” (Mathew 6:10) and the result? Most of us do not or will not ever benefit from seeing and experiencing his capabilities to perform signs, wonders and miracles in our own lives and the lives of those around us.
Some may say, ‘Well, the time of miracles found in the Bible are come and gone” but God does not seem to think so. Didn’t he say, “I Am the Lord I change not”? Does not the scriptures say, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” Hebrews 13:8?
So what’s the problem? Why do we not see more miracles in our lifetime?
Faith Made Easy: God made faith very simple (like a mustard seed) we however have made it more complicated than what God intended it to be: For most of us our faith (even the little that we have) has become swallowed up by the big monster we all know as “Doubt” due to the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things. Even Jesus who the scriptures say “Went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” was confronted with mans doubt (which is really faith turned inside out) and was unable to perform mighty works in his own home town, “And because of their unbelief (doubt), he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” Mark 6:5. Yet Jesus said, “…If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6
How Do We Become People of Faith Again?
When I was a young Christian I wanted to know EVERYTHING there was to know about God. His love for me was so amazing that I did not want to miss out on anything that he had to offer. So I began to study an ancient book called the Bible. I learned that His word was/is truth. I learned that his words were/are filled with Spirit and Life. I noticed as I began to delve into these ancient teachings that I began to understand more of who God is, why He loved us so much and I began to learn about his never ending love for me and the rest of his creation: you.
Before becoming a follower of Jesus I was trained to think a certain way and then this book began to teach me the ways of God, who he is and what he’s capable of doing. He began to teach me that If I was to become better at this “faith” thing, If I was going to tap into his miraculous power, I was going to have to “think” differently. I was going to have to learn how to tare down my old way of thinking and begin to tap into his way of thinking, his thoughts:
2 Corinthians 10:5, “Casting down imaginations and
every high thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ…”
Philipians 4:8 kjv – “Finally brothers and sisters, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.”
- If we want to see and experience God’s miracles in our lives we are going to have to see ourselves in a whole new light: See ourselves overcoming the GIANTS in life (fear, doubt, worry etc) and begin to see them as grasshoppers. Take a Bear for instance: They say if you ever encounter one while hiking or camping, you’re supposed to make yourself appear BIGGER by raising your arms up high and make your voice loud in an attempt to scare it off. It will not feel natural, but statistics say that it works. Thinking the way God thinks doesn’t feel natural either, it’s something we have to work at, with the understanding that the Lord says EVERYTHING is possible.
Thoughts, Faith & Words:
Thinking right thoughts inspire faith. We then take our faith and put it into words. Words create. Remember God said, “Let there be light and there was light” Genesis 1:3.
- Faith pleases God: Hebrews 11:6 “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”
- What is Faith?: Hebrews 11: 1 “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”
Jesus said it this way: Mark 11:22-26, “22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” The later of this verse is just as important as the first. Forgive. Our faith will not work without love. Our faith will not produce without love. Loving others is how we show we love and know God. “He that loves is born of God and knows God. He that does not love does not know God for God is Love.” 1John 4:7-8. Scriptures also teach that our faith is dead and useless without love found in James 2:
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
Jesus Faith Operated at Optimum Levels: Many think, “Well, Jesus had miracles because he was the Son of God” that’s true. But he was also the Son of Man. He was flesh and blood just like you and me. He was also tempted like mortal man, but the scriptures say, “yet, without sin.” He was and is the best example of what Love looks like, what Love does (action: Love our neighbor) and what can be done (Miracles). When Faith and Love work together, they not only relieve human suffering with food, water, clothing and shelter (See Mathew 25:31-46) they also casts out devils, heal the sick, raise the dead and so on. Faith and Love working together can relieve human suffering at all levels, if we will believe. Jesus said, “In my name you will cast out demons….you will lay your hands on the sick and they will get well…” Mark 16;17,18.
It is always Gods will to do Miracles. Jesus never turned anyone away. He never said, “I cannot do that for you”. And since God is the same yesterday, today and forever we too can have the miracles of God in our lives.
How?Jesus said, “Be not afraid, only believe.” Mark 5:36.
Pastor Nina Tidwell of Ponce Church.
